PEA FAMILY 



Flowers. — May to July, Perfect, violet-purple, borne in 

 dense, terminal, spicate racemes which are three to six inches 

 long. 



Calyx. — Hell-shaped, five-toothed ; teeth somewhat irregular, 

 green, touched with purple. 



Corolla. — Deformed papilionaceous; consisting of one petal 

 only, the standard, which is violet-purple, erect, clawed, emar- 

 ginate, wrapped around the stamens and the style; wings and 

 keel wanting. 



Stamens. — Nine or ten, monadelphous, exserted ; filaments 

 violet-purple ; anthers orange. 



Pistil. — Ovary one, superior, sessile, two-celled ; style curved, 

 violet-purple. 



Fruit. — Pod, glandular, short, curved, never opening, usually 

 two-seeded. 



The flower of the False Indigo is an interesting ex- 

 ample of arrested development. The corolla starts 

 out to be papilionaceous, — a butterfly blossom — but 

 something happens and when the bud opens all that 

 can be seen of the blossom is the broad banner, 

 closely wrapped about the stamens and pistil, trying to 

 do the whole duty of a corolla by protecting the cen- 

 tral parts of the flower. The banner, filaments, and 

 style are a deep rich purple; the protruding anthers a 

 brilliant orange ; and the result is that the terminal 

 spike covered with these flowers glows luridly in the 

 sunlight. The flowering impulse begins at the base 

 and moves spirally around the central axis to the apex, 

 thus prolonging the blooming period for a considera- 

 ble time. The bush is ornamentally effective. After 

 the blooming period is past it looks not unlike a locust 

 seedling. 



q6 



